Sonny Bono

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (16 February 1935-5 January 1998) was an American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician who served in the US House of Representatives (R-CA 44) from 3 January 1995 to 5 January 1998, succeeding Al McCandless and preceding Mary Bono).

Biography
Salvatore Phillip Bono was born in Detroit, Michigan on 16 February 1935 to a family of Sicilian immigrants, and his family moved to Inglewood, California when he was seven. He worked for producer Phil Spector as a promotion man, percussionist, and gopher (delivering items to him) during the early 1960s, and he formed a singing duo with his wife Cher later in the same decade. Sonny and Cher made a number of hit singles such as "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On", although Cher received more attention as a performer. The two continued to work together into the 1970s, starring in The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour from 1971 to 1974 on CBS. They divorced in 1975, but they occasionally collaborated with each other.

Bono became involved with politics due to his great frustration with local government bureaucracy during his attempt to open a Palm Springs restaurant, and he served as Mayor of Palm Springs from 1988 to 1992 as a Republican Party member. He spearheaded the creation of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, giving him popularity. In 1992, he lost to the more conservative Bruce Herschensohn in the US Senate Republican primary, but he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994. He supported a House bill to extend copyright, as well as the restoration of the Salton Sea. Bono became a popular figure within the Republican Party, known for his wit and deeply conservative views. In January 1998, he died from injuries sustained after hitting a tree during a ski trip in Nevada, and his wife Mary Bono succeeded him in the US Congress.